It's About To Be Writ Again
by sudipal
Summary: series of one-shots focusing on the Master in the life of Sam Tyler. Fuller explanation inside...
1. If I'm Dreaming My Life

A/N: Hi everyone! I've decided to write a series of one-shots dealing with scenes from Life On Mars as though Sam Tyler actually is the Master experiencing these things. I'd like to attempt at least one for every episode, but we'll see, since not every scene really works for this idea.

Each title here is either a title or lyric from a David Bowie song, and they will each lend to the overall mood or theme of that particular scene. (I suppose you could have figured that out on your own, but just so you're aware).

Anyway, just smile, nod your head, and indulge me...

* * *

**If I'm Dreaming My Life**

Sometimes he wasn't sure if he was living in a dream or reality. If the drums weren't just some distant noise, invading his mind, trying to coax him out of the illusion. Like the blast of trumpets that crumbled the walls of Jericho, the drums would shatter the barrier trapping him away from what is real.

But other times he was certain that even his sick, twisted sense of punishment could not conjure up this realm of pity, grief, anger, and loneliness as a purgatory for his unabsolved sins.

The Master entered the police station with an uneasy gait, as if he stood at the entrance of a labyrinth, afraid that if he ventured too deep that he would be lost inside forever. He closed his eyes for a moment, attempting to regain control of himself, of his childish fantasies; to become master over that which he would otherwise fear. He shook his head slightly and turned to leave, deciding that this adventure that laid itself before him here might not be worth his effort.

But at that moment, DCI Gene Hunt and DC Chris Skelton came out of Gene's office. They spotted the Master, their supposed DI Sam Tyler, as he was about to vanish through the doors.

"Bloody hell," said Gene. "I've seen road accidents more cheerful. Where are you today: here or the planet of the Clangers?"

The Master gave him an odd expression. He flushed with embarrassment at the memory of having to be told so long ago that they were only puppets, for the amusement of children. In truth, he too had been amused by them, enjoyed thinking that they existed somewhere in the universe. Their dubious reality only added to the long list of disappointments in his life.

"Didn't know if you were gonna show, Boss," said Chris.

"Where else could I go?" the Master asked. But really, he wondered: _Where else would have me?_

"Well," said the Guv, casually. "We're honored." He then put an arm across the Master's shoulders and led him down the corridor, toward the den of the Minotaur. But the Master had no string to find his way back. And he knew then that this would not be a simple task, but that he would be stuck in the midst of this enterprise, as Sam Tyler, for a long time to come.

* * *

(A/N: And yes, Delgado!Master actually watched The Clangers in the Doctor Who episode The Sea Devils. And you really almost feel for him when you see the look of disappointment on his face.)


	2. A New Career In A New Town

A/N: I suppose this one is technically a continuation, since it's the exact next scene after the one I posted previously, but just roll with it, okay...? Sorry this one's a bit short. I almost didn't post it, but I decided that I still kind of liked it.

* * *

**A New Career In A New Town**

Gene took the Master to interview a friend of the recent murder victim, Susie Tripper. She was the last one to see Susie alive, but, as one afraid of hyperboles might put it, Dora Keynes wasn't too fond of the police.

"Sod off," said Dora, sitting in a chair by the wooden table situated in the Lost and Found, a room which was convenient for its thick walls.

"Can't, love," said Gene. "This is my esteemed colleague, DI Tyler."

The Master sat down opposite her and crossed his arms. Dora mirrored his actions. The Master could see that she came here with a very contrary attitude; if he had one positive thing to say about humans, it was that they were very good when it came to emotional self-defense.

"Er... hi, Dora," he began, trying to find the best way to approach her, like a predator waiting for the weakest of its prey to let its guard down. "I want you to call me Sam."

"You really a copper?" asked Dora.

"Possibly," he said. "When was the last time you saw Susie?" He was always good with women. If he could seduce the Queen of Atlantis, then surely he would have no trouble with a little human brat such as the girl sitting before him.

But in the end, it had been Gene Hunt's brute force that had gotten through to her. And what surprised the Master most was that he himself had questioned such a tactic; he- the destroyer of so many worlds- didn't want the girl's blood on his hands. And that was cause, he decided, for a drink...

"That's the first sensible thing you've said since you got here," said Gene.


	3. You've Got A Habit Of Leaving

A/N: Still in s01e01

* * *

**You've Got A Habit Of Leaving**

He wondered why he was here, why he didn't just leave and never turn back. It would be so simple; he had done it so many times before. He left his home, his family, his principles, his morality- everything that might have meant something once, but now mean nothing, like the ancient rituals of a dead society. There was only one thing which he still actively pursued: his ambitions, for which he sold everything he had only to wind up empty-handed.

He could see nothing to gain from this place, this time, so why did he stay? He thought of Gallifrey, of the war. They bargained with him, and he held to his deal. If the Daleks won, then not even he could find a way to survive in their world; better the lesser of two evils.

But he was afraid, and so he ran. He ran so very far, but still his fears pursued him. It did not take the Keller Machine to break him, nor the drums to fracture him, nor the Doctor to halt him. His destruction was caused by an internal struggle, and sometimes it seemed just so easy to just admit defeat.

"Give it up then," Gene said to the Master. It took a moment for the Master to understand to what Gene was referring.

"Alright," he said, realizing what Gene had meant. "The man you're looking for is either wearing thick gloves of some sort, or he's using... a bag, or something, made of coarse material, gets under the nails."

"You can't know that from one stiff," said Gene.

"I've seen another," the Master said, thinking of his quite personal experience with such things. "Look, I'm telling you-" He paused to groan. "What does it matter anyway? None of this is real!" He wasn't one of the good guys, even when he tried to be. "You're just some thug who crawled out of some dark little pit in the back of my mind."

"Then report me," said Gene. But he had misunderstood. The Master was talking to himself, to the delusion that he could be better, that he could be fixed, that he could be helped- that he could help others. The delinquent little thought that remained deep within to give him false hope was to what the Master was referring.

"See you, Gene," he said, finally giving in, giving up. "Give my regards to the id."

He turned to leave, but Gene grabbed his shoulders and spun him around. "Alright!" the Master shouted, defensively, though he had nothing left to lose. "Right now! Let it be now! Come on!"

Gene just laughed. The Master just watched and listened, frozen by the sound.

"You're new," Gene told him. "And you've got something big crammed up your jacksie, but don't worry, you'll learn. I may be the sheriff, but I'm a deputy to the law. Now, I don't care if you want to take a swing for me if it makes you feel good, but what I do ask is that you don't hide anything from me. So, have you got a hunch about this case?"

Don't hide anything? Perhaps it would be better to start with not hiding everything. After all, every good lie contains a bit of truth. "With what I know," the Master told him, a new confidence growing within him for the first time since arriving at this place. "I could find this killer."

Perhaps there was something to gain here; perhaps he hadn't lost everything; perhaps his damage was contained to the seams and could be repaired.

"Prove it," said Gene.


	4. No Control

A/N: What? An update? Yeah... sorry, the plot bunnies ran away for a while, but I caught one of them finally.

S01e02

* * *

**No Control**

Death has always stalked him, a creeping shadow visible in the terror of the night. He has intimately known the cold, grasping embrace of silent nothingness, suffocating him until he could finally force himself away. Always, afterwards, he feels vulnerable and violated and enraged to the point where he doesn't know if he's a victim of circumstance or if he was always destined to be this way. _No!_ He had decided long ago never to be a victim. Or else, he is certain, he would have ended up like June...

The Master ran his blood-stained hands over his face, leaving a faint trail of red on his skin as he breathed in deeply. Feeling an eery sensation of being watched, he turned around to find both Gene and Ray staring at him, so he walked over to join them.

"I want this mess tidied up tonight," said the Guv, determination and anger in his voice. "And I want this cleared away." He indicated the crimson puddle of blood at their feet. "I don't want any of her left lying on the street. Get rid of all these people."

"All right, move away!" Ray ordered, steering away the crowd that had inevitably formed around the crime scene. "Move away. There's nothing to see."

"I'll wait until," the Master began, but quickly realized he didn't know exactly what he wanted to say. "Um... Forensics." It's not that he felt responsible; after all, it wasn't as though he pulled the trigger. He had never felt so off-balance before. He always new exactly what he wanted and nothing else mattered, especially the lives of lessers. But, here, he had to play a role, and in this paradoxical world of bravery and corruption, of brotherhood and jealousy, of honor and depravity, he no longer knew where he stood.

Gene held out his hand, revealing a diamond ring. "Here," he said. "Slipped right off her finger."

The Master took the ring and looked at it. "She came to the jeweller's to get it," he explained, remembering a conversation he had overheard earlier.

Gene nodded, then immediately grabbed the Master by the jacket. "Clean it up!" He then threw the Master down onto his hands and knees so that his face was very near the blood. "I want _you_ to clean it up! She works at the station. She's one of us. And I want to be able to look her dad in the eye and say you cleaned up every drop of her precious blood."

"Get off me!" the Master yelled, pushing Gene away and leaping back to his feet. "This entire place is cracked! You can't blame me, you lunatic bastard! You were wrong! I didn't do this! _They_ did it!"

Even when he wasn't the villain, he could never escape the persona, type-cast like an actor who dreamed to be grander, but was confined into the parameters into which everyone else would place him.

"The diamonds they took were only in the safe for one day," Gene told him, in a resentful and enraged tone. "They had to hit it today, we had Trent today, and you, _you_ let him go to prove a point!"

"We had no evidence!" the Master answered back with equal fury. By now, he had become so manic at the unnecessary humiliation and hatred, his thoughts so off-kilter, that he pulled off his own jacket and bent down to scrub the drying puddle of blood. He then stood back up and threw the ruined garment to the ground.

**"**I'm better than any of this!" he said. He never belonged here, among these primitive people, who had no idea of the magnificence of the universe, who were content to think of themeslves of kings of their country, never considering the threats that awaited them beyond the border. He was sick of it, sick of it all, and he didn't deserve to be trapped in this god-forsaken, preposterous version of Hell.

**"**Says you," said Gene.


End file.
